SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF NIGERIA (SMEDAN)

SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF NIGERIA (SMEDAN)

Poverty is a social ill that threatens global prosperity in general and national economic growth and development in particular. It is caused by a lack of access to income-earning possibilities and a lack of aptitude to take advantage of those changes.

A well-developed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector has proven to be one of the most effective means of poverty reduction. The necessity to kick-start the development of Nigeria’s MSMEs in an organised and effective manner gave birth to the creation of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria known as SMEDAN.

The SMEDAN Act of 2003 established the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to encourage the development of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector of the Nigerian economy. The agency bills itself as a one-stop shop for small business development. Micro Enterprises, such as those in the manufacturing or production sectors, as well as those in the service sector, which use plant and machinery to add value to a finished product, are included in the agency’s clientele because they provide the foundation of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) segment of the Nigerian economy is one of, if not the most essential. It currently accounts for 96 percent of Nigerian firms and 75 percent of the country’s employment. Over 17 million of Nigeria’s 17.2 million MSMEs are micro-enterprises. As a result, growth in this sector is directly proportional to overall economic growth and employment levels in Nigeria.

There is little doubt that a well-developed and well-structured MSMEs sector in Nigeria can considerably contribute to job creation, wealth creation, poverty reduction, and long-term economic growth and development. However, a variety of obstacles are impeding MSMEs’ potential in Nigeria. Among the most pressing issues are:

• Limited access to cheap credit
• Limited access to Business Development Services (BDS)
• Inadequate infrastructure and high operating costs

However, SMEDAN (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria) assists MSME’s in a variety of ways, one of which is through the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP). The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) is coordinating NEDEP, which was launched by the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, CON, to assist MSME’s in overcoming some of the issues they confront. Skills Acquisition, Entrepreneurship Training/Business Development Service (BDS), and Access to Finance are the three main focuses of the program.

 

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SMEDAN’S Core Values

Every person or organisation has core convictions that they refer to as guiding principles. These values are what guide their actions and how they run their businesses or lives. SMEDAN also adheres to a set of guiding principles that they consider to be essential. They are as follows:

• Outreach: Reaching out to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is the first of SMEDAN’s (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria) basic values, and it is critical to achieving the goal of MSME-led economic growth, industrialisation, and job creation.
• Sustainability: This is another aspect that is very important to SMEDAN. In order to achieve this, they develop exit strategies if necessary in order to avoid becoming overly reliant on subsidies.
• Impact: SMEDAN is dedicated to producing measurable outcomes.
• Efficiency: At SMEDAN, quality service delivery is a top goal, as the agency values quality service delivery by their agency on the one hand, and MSMEs on the other, in the most cost-effective way possible.

The Mission and the Vision of the Agency

SMEDAN (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria), like any other organisation, has goals and objectives that serve as the agency’s mission and vision statements. According to the enabling Act, SMEDAN’s goal and vision are as follows:

• To encourage the development of a well-organised and efficient micro, small, and medium-sized business sector in Nigeria that will contribute to the country’s long-term economic progress.
• To make it easier for micro, small and medium-sized businesses and investors to get all of the resources they need to grow.
• The MSMEs sub-sector should be stimulated, monitored, and coordinated.
• To create and express policy proposals for the growth and development of small and medium-sized businesses.
• To promote the development of smaller businesses across the country.
• To encourage and enable the development of MSME operations by promoting and facilitating development programs, tools, and support services.

SMEDAN’s other activities include:

• Revitalising the rural economy, improving employment prospects, creating wealth, and alleviating poverty in Nigeria’s rural communities.
• To create long-term MSMEs with comparative and competitive advantages.
• Establishing an entrepreneurial culture, rural industrialisation, improved industrial cluster growth, greater MSMEs GDP contribution, increased export potentials, and so on.
• Kidnapping, extremist insurgency such as boko haram, prostitution, armed robbery, drug abuse, thuggery, and other societal vices (e.g. kidnapping, extremist insurgency such as boko haram, prostitution, armed robbery, drug abuse, thuggery, etc.) must all be eliminated.
• To strengthen Nigeria’s social security system.

The agency is part of the Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support Industry and is based in Abuja, Nigeria. The SMEDAN corporate family consists of around 483 entities. Femi Pedro has been named Chairman of the SMEDAN Board of Directors. President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him to the position in 2018. The agency welcomes as many MSME’s as possible to register with them. The truth is that SMEDAN would not be able to fulfill its many goals unless MSME’s join forces with them. As a result, it is critical for all Small and Medium Scale Enterprises to join the SMEDAN Registration Program in order to take advantage of the numerous benefits available to them. The following are some of the advantages:

• Access to commercial insurance
• Digital Certificate
• Mentoring and Training
• SMEDAN Identification Number
• Financial services

All of these and many more are available to MSME’s that chose to join force with SMEDAN. Businesses who have registered with SMEDAN are in good hands, regardless of what happens in the future.

 

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